Roof Truss Compatible for Solar Panels
A roof truss compatible for solar energy panels, and a method for installing the roof trusses, incorporates a non-structural top chord that may have a removable portion removed and replaced by a solar assembly. The truss is structurally designed to support the solar assembly without the presence of the non-structural top chord. A desired length of the non-structural top chord may be omitted or removed during manufacture of the truss, or may be removed at a future time for installation of solar panel assemblies. A solar assembly for inserting into the solar roof truss may include a panel enclosure which has a channel for holding a solar panel, where the panel is installed approximately flush with the roof line. The panel enclosure may have an air space underneath the solar panel, to allow for cooling air flow and water drainage.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/874,168 filed Sep. 1, 2010, entitled “Roof Truss Compatible for Solar Panels”, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/324,712 filed Apr. 15, 2010, entitled “Solar Roof Truss and Embedded Solar Energy System,” both of which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURERooftop solar energy systems are a common mode for installing solar panels on a building. Solar panels may be retrofitted on top of existing roofs, or may be incorporated into a roof during new construction. For retrofit installations on top of an existing roof, each installation must be built as a custom design for each home and be engineered to satisfy local authority inspectors, both of which make retrofits a costly process. Retrofits can compromise the integrity of a roof, be visually unappealing, and incur high labor and material costs. The structural design of the supporting roof trusses may require modification or rebuilding in order to make them compatible with the solar panels being installed.
Solar energy systems may also be incorporated into a roof during construction of the building instead of being retrofitted. For instance, various designs for photovoltaic panels, fluid heat exchangers, and heated air systems to be installed on top of a roof or built into the underlying roof structure have been seen in the art. However, such custom approaches require specialized structures that must be incorporated into the design of the building itself. Solar roof tiles and shingles for use as a roofing material are another approach for installing solar components into new roofs. Solar roof tiles and shingles provide a more visually appealing surface, but can also require retrofitting of the roof structure and be costly.
Thus, there remains a need for solar rooftop systems which reduce cost, improve standardization, and are easy to install while maintaining reliability and maintainability.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSUREA roof truss compatible for solar energy panels and method of installing the solar panels into a roof having the roof trusses is disclosed. The roof truss incorporates a non-structural top chord that may have a removable portion removed and replaced by a solar assembly. The truss of the present invention is structurally designed to support the solar assembly without the presence of the non-structural top chord. In some embodiments, the non-structural top chord is omitted or removed during manufacture of the truss. In other embodiments, the solar roof trusses may be covered with roofing material, and then the roofing material and a portion of the non-structural top chord removed at a future time to make them suitable for installation of solar panel assemblies. The non-structural chord has an upper surface defining the roof line, so that the installed solar assembly may be installed approximately flush with the roof line.
A solar assembly for inserting into the solar roof truss is also disclosed. The solar assembly includes a panel enclosure which has a channel for holding a solar panel, the channel being located near an upper edge of the panel enclosure. In some embodiments, the panel enclosures may be longitudinal and configured to slidingly receive a row of solar panels. The panel enclosure may have an air space underneath the solar panel, to allow for cooling air flow and water drainage.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the disclosed invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
A solar roof truss compatible for installation of a solar energy assembly is disclosed, in which the solar roof truss allows the option of installing the solar energy assembly during construction of a building or at a future time. The solar roof truss is pre-engineered to house a solar assembly and support the weight thereof, thus reducing the cost of retrofitting if the panels are installed at a future time. A non-structural member is incorporated into a roof truss to provide space for a solar assembly. The non-structural member is positioned to define the roof line of a building such that the solar assembly may be installed approximately flush with the roof line. For the purposes of this disclosure, “roof line” shall refer to a finished roof, such as the top surface of shingles, tiles, shake, or other type of roofing material installed onto the roof. The non-structural member can be configured into standard roof truss designs, which allows for a visually appealing solar rooftop system without requiring custom or specialized systems to accommodate solar components. Furthermore, the solar roof trusses are amenable to various sizes of solar arrays.
The truss 100 is designed to support the weight of a solar assembly without the presence of top chord 120. That is, non-structural top chord 120 is a non-load bearing member of truss 100, with its length—whether full length or partial—not impacting the structural integrity of the truss 100. In some embodiments, the non-structural top chord 120 may be initially manufactured as a partial length. When manufactured with a partial length, the removable portion of the non-structural chord is not a physical piece but may be defined as the space continuing from the partial length and extending from down to the heel of the truss. In other embodiments, the truss 100 may be manufactured and installed into a building with a full-length non-structural top chord 120, with the full length being divided or cut at a future time into a partial length and a removed length. The future time can be at the discretion of a user, such as months or years after being built into a roof. The non load-bearing top chord 120 establishes a space into which a solar assembly may be installed, which advantageously enables a building to be compatible for solar energy panels at any time during the life of the building. Because the truss 100 is designed to support the weight of a solar assembly, retrofitting and re-engineering of a roof, along with the associated costly permits and inspections, may be reduced or eliminated.
In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
The non-structural top chord 120 is positioned in the truss 100 such that the upper surfaces 122 and 132 of top chords 120 and 130 define a roof line for a building into which the truss 100 will be incorporated. The structural top chord 110 is therefore below the desired roof profile. In embodiments where the non-structural top chord 120 is initially manufactured with only a partial length, the roof line would be defined by a line extending along of the upper surface 122 of the partial length toward the heel 175 of the truss 100; that is, the upper surface of where a full-length chord would be if present. The truss 100 may be configured in a conventional truss pattern, such as the Howe-type design as embodied in
In embodiments in which the solar roof truss is based on a conventional truss, the solar roof truss advantageously reduces the cost of custom-built designs for installing solar panels. In yet other embodiments, the non-structural top chord may be built into a custom-designed truss, for instance to meet the designs of a specific building. Embodiments of the solar roof trusses of the present invention may be applicable to various types of building, including but not limited to residential, commercial, warehouses, and carports.
While the top chord 120 of
In the embodiment of
In one embodiment of installing solar panels 310 into a roof, a first solar panel 310 is slid into the enclosure 320, and positioned at the uppermost position of the recessed space, toward apex of the roof. Any subsequent solar panels to be installed may then be slid into place, until the desired number of panels are stacked in a row along the panel enclosure. The bottom-most panel may then be retained in place by holding mechanisms including but not limited to cotter pins, retaining clips, clasps, brackets, and the like. Individual panels may be easily accessed for repair or replacement by releasing the holding mechanism from a particular row, and then sliding out one or more panels for servicing.
The panel enclosure 320 may be one longitudinal piece continuously extending from the gutter line of the roof toward the peak of the truss such as depicted in
Further details of
In the embodiment of
A perspective view of one embodiment of bracket 360 is shown in
Returning to
In
In the embodiment of
Electrical connections between solar panels may be connected via conduits that run through pre-drilled holes in the side of each pan, underneath solar modules, as illustrated in
Note that although embodiments have been shown with a plurality of solar roof trusses, a single solar roof truss may be utilized. In such an embodiment, the recessed space for a solar assembly would have a width spanning from an adjacent truss, across the single solar roof truss, and to the adjacent truss on the other side of the solar roof truss. Furthermore, while the recessed spaces for solar assemblies are depicted in this disclosure as being bordered on either side with trusses, other types of end surfaces other than trusses may instead enclose the edges of the recessed space. Alternative end surfaces may include, for example, walls made of concrete, plywood, brick, sheet metal or other material. The end surfaces need only to be spaced apart from the one or more solar roof trusses with enough distance to provide space for a solar assembly. Additionally, other types of solar assemblies may be installed into the solar roof trusses described in this disclosure.
While the specification has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing, may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to these embodiments. These and other modifications and variations to the present invention may be practiced by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in the appended claims. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present subject matter covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
Claims
1.-11. (canceled)
12. A roof truss system compatible for solar energy panels, comprising:
- a roof truss comprising: a structural top chord having a first upper surface; and a non-structural top chord above the structural top chord, wherein the non-structural top chord has a second upper surface, wherein a line extending along the second upper surface from a peak to a heel of the roof truss defines a roof line, and wherein the non-structural top chord extends only partially along the structural top chord, the non-structural chord having a first end toward the peak of the roof truss and having a second end opposite the first end; wherein the roof truss is engineered to accommodate the weight of a solar panel assembly;
- end surfaces facing and spaced apart from both sides of the roof truss; and
- a recessed space having dimensions defined by a) a length from the second end of the non-structural top chord to a distance toward the heel of the roof truss, b) a height from the first upper surface to the second upper surface, and c) a width spanning between the end surfaces;
- wherein the dimensions of the recessed space are suitable for accommodating a solar panel assembly.
13. The system of claim 12 further comprising a roofing material covering the roof truss, wherein the roofing material is removed at a future time in a desired area; and wherein the recessed space and the solar panel assembly are located in the desired area.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein the first end of the non-structural chord is located at the peak of the truss.
15. The system of claim 12 wherein the length of the recessed space extends to the heel of the roof truss.
16. The system of claim 12 further comprising a plurality of roof trusses.
17. The system of claim 12 wherein a solar panel of the solar panel assembly is approximately flush with the roof line when the solar panel is installed in the recessed space.
18. The system of claim 12, the solar panel assembly comprising:
- a panel enclosure having a bottom and two opposite side walls;
- a channel positioned near an upper edge of each of the side walls, wherein the channels are capable of receiving a solar panel; and
- a solar panel placed in the channels of the panel enclosure.
19. The system of claim 18 wherein the channels are built integrally into the panel enclosure.
20. The system of claim 18 further comprising:
- a backing sheet located on the first upper surfaces in the recessed space;
- a plurality of panel enclosures placed onto the backing sheet; and
- joining elements joining the plurality of panel enclosures to each other and to the backing sheet.
21. The system of claim 18 further comprising an air space between the solar panel and the bottom of the panel enclosure, wherein the air space allows air or fluid flow to a gutter line of the roof.
22. The system of claim 18 wherein the channel is capable of slidingly receiving a solar panel.
23. A roof truss compatible for solar energy panels, comprising:
- a structural top chord having a first upper surface;
- a non-structural top chord above the structural top chord, wherein the non-structural top chord has a second upper surface, the second upper surface defining a roof line, wherein the non-structural top chord extends only partially along the structural top chord, the non-structural chord having a first end toward a peak of the roof truss and having and a second end opposite the first end;
- a bottom chord; and
- web members connecting the bottom chord to the structural top chord;
- wherein a space defined by the height from the first upper surface to the second upper surface, and by a length extending from the second end of the non-structural chord toward a heel of the truss, is sufficient to allow a solar panel assembly to be installed; and
- wherein the roof truss is designed to accommodate the weight of the solar panel assembly without the presence of the non-structural top chord.
24. The roof truss of claim 23 wherein the structural top chord, the bottom chord, and the web members are configured in a conventional truss pattern.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 23, 2013
Publication Date: Jan 23, 2014
Applicant: ECO SOLAR GENERATION, LLC (San Mateo, CA)
Inventor: Robert E. Heisler (San Mateo, CA)
Application Number: 14/033,676
International Classification: E04B 7/18 (20060101); E04B 7/04 (20060101);